ThaWholigan Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I woke late this morning and meditated to give thanks for a great day. It led me to reflect on my spiritual life from very young, up until now. When I was born, my mother was Rasta, so I grew up very black-conscious, and also with a belief in God (or Jah, as we called Him). I also believed Halie Selassie I to be the embodiment of Christ at one point, but having read the Bible front to back as an 8 year old, I came across a verse in Exodus 20 that resonated (something about nothing being in God's likeness). Around that time, I was interested in psychic stuff and astrology, but it was pretty mild at that time, being that I was only 10. My interest in Christianity grew significantly from a purely spiritual perspective, and eventually piqued when my mother, upon attending Church a few times, became a born again Christian. So, by default, both my brother and I also became Christians. It was a pretty decent time for me at that point, but I didn't feel the same connection spiritually than I had when I was younger. As I became more entrenched in Christian beliefs, I felt even more disconnected from my original faith in what I believed God to be. I could not explain it. Pretty soon, at 15, I stopped attending Church, thinking that I could maintain my Christian faith outside of that environment. I liked the people at my Church, but I didn't feel spiritually connected there. My mother was disappointed and continued to pester me to return to Church. My brother was worse, he hated going to Church and downright refused. He did not believe in God, although he is a tiny bit more spiritual nowadays in that he acknowledged the existence of a Higher Power. After I left school (which was a Roman Catholic all-boys school as well ), I had not just left the Church - I was moving away from Christianity. I started to read about other religions, the history behind all the religions, and my friends had introduced me to the concept of Freemasonry (and how they rule the world, and all religions are product of the Occult - David Icke stuff ). I read a lot of Icke's work at this point, and I started to become more aware of my spirituality again at 17. Alas, I was more comfortable. I felt like I had gone back to being green again, and learning from scratch. I had gotten back into Astrology for fun purposes, and at 18 I started to look at the idea of metaphysics, and I want to study more of this as I feel that this is more along the lines of what I believe God is. Fast-forward to now, and I'm at my happiest spiritually, even though I'm no longer a Christian. I still have faith in the unseen, and that there is a higher power (or Source) that guides us all spiritually. I still have a way to go spiritually. There was a curve-ball where I actually considered converting to Islam! My cousin converted and showed me some stuff that greatly interested me and I started to look at Islam as a viable way to get in touch with God spiritually. However, as I am happy with how things are in my life, I'm wondering - do I still have far to go spiritually? Will I find what I'm looking for studying more? Or will I come full circle?? 1 Link to post Share on other sites
d'Arthez Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Only one answer: live your life. It is pointless to predict where you will be or end up. The curse of spirituality is the reflection on it. Doing things because you are supposed to do them is in general a poor reason to engage in any particular behavior. If such a behavior comes naturally, you won't even give it a thought. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Author ThaWholigan Posted June 22, 2012 Author Share Posted June 22, 2012 Only one answer: live your life. It is pointless to predict where you will be or end up. The curse of spirituality is the reflection on it. Doing things because you are supposed to do them is in general a poor reason to engage in any particular behavior. If such a behavior comes naturally, you won't even give it a thought. I think it's probably not a coincidence that the day I started living in the present was when I started to feel more at ease spiritually and mentally. Link to post Share on other sites
d'Arthez Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Exactly. When you truly enjoy things in the present, and the present alone, you are where you "want" to be (technically you don't even want that - you just are). When even the most mundane tasks such as peeling potatoes are enjoyable to you. Which reminds me - time to peel some potatoes. I have met people of all religions, of many different spiritual persuasions. Some were truly wonderful, some were literally going through the motions. Religion and atheism are ultimately meaningless concepts to me. It is not so much about what one believes, but how those beliefs are part of your everyday practice, and how we understand life and how we try and live our lives. This does not mean you should disregard the future completely, especially not from a career perspective. You need to get that sorted. And better get it sorted in a way that allows you to act in agreement with your spiritual convictions. Link to post Share on other sites
SomedayDig Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I might be a tad simple minded in this department but your 11:59 comment is truly what I think life is all about. When people stop feeling a "need" to follow an organized religion and begin living in the here and now is when we truly become spiritual. While going to a specific church can be rewarding to some, to others it just doesn't hold water. I find going to church on occasion to be a nice meditation because it is comforting and familiar. However, I have found that my most spiritual times were riding alone through the countryside on my Harley and being in the world. That moment that I crest a hill and see a sunrise or sunset says "He is watching" and to me, that means more than any prayer recited. Link to post Share on other sites
Lobouspo Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I think the spiritual journey is always a search. I'm Christian, but I never for one second believe I have it all figured out. There's a lot of grey mist out there. Just committing to spiritual growth and genuinely opening your heart and mind to your concept of a higher power is half the battle IMO.... 2 Link to post Share on other sites
denise_xo Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 (edited) The curse of spirituality is the reflection on it. d'Arthez summed it up beautifully. I take inspiration from a lot of different sources, but the day you reify those sources, you're getting yourself into trouble. I prefer to approach it from an experiential angle, rather than a philosophical one. I love philosophy, but it will never bring you to stillness. If you're interested in Islam, you might want to check out Sufi approaches. A lot of strands of Islam are very literalist. Sufism brings you closer to the spiritual dimensions. Edited June 23, 2012 by denise_xo Link to post Share on other sites
denise_xo Posted June 23, 2012 Share Posted June 23, 2012 Regarding your subject header line: I wouldn't think of it as 'how far do I have left to go'. I would think 'where am I now, and how can I best work on myself to live in the present'. As others have said, I think that's a continuous process for most people that doesn't have a set end point. There are always new things to learn and discover and go deeper into. Link to post Share on other sites
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